These gates define the threshold into the “removed space” of the newly-dedicated Royal View Memorial Cemetery in the City of Lethbridge, Alberta.

Occupying land adjacent to the long-defunct Royal View Mine, the cemetery commemorates the Mine and the contribution it made to the lives and economy in the early days of the City of Lethbridge.

The square frame in the centrepiece references the entrance to an underground mine — the adit.

The ring and broken arc draw from the imagery of the “tipple”, which is a key piece of industrial machinery in the mining industry, at the same time that it evokes the Jungian archetype of the sense of loss and subsequent healing associated with cemeteries.

The gates are oriented such that the sun/moon rises/sets in the centre of the oculus on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.

All photos are un-photoshopped. The first two images were taken on the evening of the autumnal equinox in 2013 when it coincided with a full moon — the harvest moon — in an extremely rare occurrence.

Size: 58 feet x 10 feet hgt

Date: 2013